Round 3 of the Twilight 25 Challenge: What if?
by ICMezzo
Summary: These are my drabbles for round three of the Twilight Twenty-Five challenge. They are unrelated to each other, so you've got a little of everything thrown in. Includes many different characters/pairings. Rated M to be safe.
1. Chapter 1: What if she didn't stop at 17

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The Twilight Twenty-Five

Prompt #: 1

Pen name: ICMezzo

Pairing: Bella, Edward

Rating: T

Photos for prompts can be found here:

community[dot]livejournal[dot]com/thetwilight25/13912[dot]html

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**#1: What if she didn't stop at 17**

"She has so little time left," a devastated Bella whispered to Edward.

He nodded. They rarely spoke anymore of Renesmee's rapid aging. It seemed pointless to discuss the problem when there was no solution.

Carlisle predicted Renesmee would live fewer than twenty years and she was already halfway through.

They heard Renesmee laugh as she ran through the woods with Jacob. She was always running; it was as though she wanted life to speed up even further.

Meanwhile her parents would have given anything to slow it down.

For Edward and Bella, who had eternity, the irony was unbearable.

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_A/N: Well, these are obviously my entries for round three of the Twilight Twenty-Five challenge. These are also my first-ever drabbles. Turns out they're kinda fun to write. Anyway, I hope you enjoy reading them half as much as I enjoyed writing them._

_Though all are unrelated to each other, most are sort of cannon "with a twist," asking what happens when one small detail is changed, often with very different results than Stephenie Meyer planned. And speaking of Stephenie Meyer, she owns everything you recognize._

_Thanks so much to Mrs. Agget for her beta work on this and the other 24 drabbles._

_And with that, enjoy!_


	2. Chapter 2: What if they'd drank more

**The Twilight Twenty-Five**

Prompt #: 2

Pen name: ICMezzo

Pairing: Bella and the men of Port Angeles

Rating: M

Photos for prompts can be found here:

community[dot]livejournal[dot]com/thetwilight25/13912[dot]html

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#2: What if they'd drank even more?

The wasted men stumbled from the bar.

"Half-price beer's sic!"

"Fuck yeah!"

"Wait up, fuckers. I gotta piss!"

"See that girl there? I'd hit that," their leader slurred and tripped while attempting to point. "Let's corner her. Go that way."

"Shit. That's fucked up. You can't even walk, you're so wasted," one replied.

"But she's fuckin' bangin'." He turned to follow her himself.

"Hell no. Go home. You're trashed." Another said, grabbing and pulling him in the opposite direction of Bella, who was heading off to meet Jessica and Angela for dinner.

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_A/N: Thanks so much to Mrs. Agget for betaing._


	3. Chapter 3: What if she was late

**The Twilight Twenty-Five**

Prompt #: 3

Pen name: ICMezzo

Pairing: Alice and Jasper

Rating: T

Photos for prompts can be found here:

community[dot]livejournal[dot]com/thetwilight25/13912[dot]html

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#3: What if she was late

The rain that delayed my travel pounded the pavement around me.

I should have already been at the diner waiting for him.

I didn't need a watch to know I was late. With each step, the images in my head grew hazier.

I cursed the clouds I typically celebrated; they were responsible for my rerouted flight. Now I was late for our forever.

Suddenly my vision disappeared entirely.

The Philadelphia diner no longer held my future.

I felt blinded. How was I to find him now?

Where do you go when you don't know where you are supposed to be?

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_A/N: Thanks to Mrs. Agget for betaing._


	4. Chapter 4: What if she left when he did

**The Twilight Twenty-Five**

Prompt #: 4

Pen name: ICMezzo

Pairing: Esme and Charles

Rating: T

Photos for prompts can be found here:

community[dot]livejournal[dot]com/thetwilight25/13912[dot]html

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#4: What if she left when he did

I watched the train carry my husband off to war.

I was pleased; I had no love for the man who'd previously fought only to conquer me.

If he returned, he would not find me waiting. He wouldn't hurt me again.

Already I'd secretly obtained the precious ticket that would take me to my new home, Chicago. I thrilled at what the city might hold for me.

I'd be taking little with me on the journey; we had little to take. But there was one thing of which I was certain—I carried my most precious cargo in my womb.

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_A/N: Thanks to Mrs. Agget for betaing._


	5. Chapter 5: What if there was no compromi

**The Twilight Twenty-Five**

Prompt #: 5

Pen name: ICMezzo

Pairing: Bella/Edward

Rating: T

Photos for prompts can be found here:

community[dot]livejournal[dot]com/thetwilight25/13912[dot]html

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#5: What if there was no compromise

Bella shrugged tired shoulders. "No. I'm taking them with me."

The letters were hers anyway. He sent them to her through the years whenever they'd been separated.

The faded documents held 70 years worth of his words and love. There was no way she was giving them up. Wherever she was destined to go next, she needed them with her.

"I always give in to you. Not this time." Edward tried to put his foot down, wanting them for himself to remember her by.

"If you always gave in to me, we wouldn't be having this conversation."

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_A/N: Thanks to Mrs. Agget for betaing._


	6. Chapter 6: What if he couldn't stop

**The Twilight Twenty-Five**

Prompt #: 6

Pen name: ICMezzo

Pairing: Carlisle

Rating: T

Photos for prompts can be found here:

community[dot]livejournal[dot]com/thetwilight25/13912[dot]html

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#6: What if he couldn't stop

I sighed, not for the drudgery of unpacking my office in our new home, but for my son. We'd moved before and would do so again, but I wasn't certain Edward could ever move on.

As I alphabetized some of my medical volumes, I wondered whether we would stay long enough to make it worth redecorating the space. I'd certainly never need the ceiling fan, nor were the colors exactly my style.

Perhaps some dark red paint, I mused.

No, best to go with green, I realized. Red would just remind me of the new color of my son's eyes.

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_A/N: Thanks to Mrs. Agget for betaing._


	7. Chapter 7: What if memories didn't fade

**The Twilight Twenty-Five**

Prompt #: 7

Pen name: ICMezzo

Pairing: Rosalie/Emmett

Rating: T

Photos for prompts can be found here:

community[dot]livejournal[dot]com/thetwilight25/13912[dot]html

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#7: What if memories didn't fade

"Come with me," Rosalie demanded.

"Sorry, ladybug. No can do. I promised to help Edward," Emmett replied.

"It's dark. You have to," she whined. "Please."

"Rosie, I really can't. You'll be fine."

But when he looked up, Emmett saw the human girl with the horrific past. He wished Rosalie could forget or move on, but like all their natures, hers would forever remain unchanged.

No longer did any threat wait for her in the shadows, but if she didn't want to go alone, he wouldn't make her.

"Never mind. Let me just tell Edward."

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_A/N: Thanks to Mrs. Agget for betaing._


	8. Chapter 8: What if he could read her min

**The Twilight Twenty-Five**

Prompt #: 8

Pen name: ICMezzo

Pairing: Edward, Bella (with Alice and Jessica)

Rating: T

Photos for prompts can be found here:

community[dot]livejournal[dot]com/thetwilight25/13912[dot]html

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#8: What if he could read her mind?

"Who are they?" the new student asked.

I largely ignored Jessica's description of my family, listening instead for the new girl, Bella's, thoughts.

Interesting. The new mind was different: quiet, self-conscious, atypically sacrificial.

Suddenly an image—a brown-eyed, brown-haired girl wrapped up intimately in my arms—flashed twice through my mind. Only the perspectives differed.

Alice, the source of one version, gaped at me. "_What_ _was that_?"

I didn't answer, puzzling over who else had simultaneously envisioned the same scene.

I glanced up, gasping when I saw Bella for the first time.

It was her thought, and apparently, our future.

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_A/N: Thanks to Mrs. Agget for betaing._


	9. Chapter 9: What if Jasper loved 'em both

**The Twilight Twenty-Five**

Prompt #: 9

Pen name: ICMezzo

Pairing: Jasper/Edward

Rating: M

Photos for prompts can be found here:

community[dot]livejournal[dot]com/thetwilight25/13912[dot]html

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#9: What if Jasper loved them both

I watched him anxiously await Bella's arrival. He was always anxious around her, for her.

Should I use my special ability?

I could calm and reassure him.

Or I could multiply his anxiety, adding dissatisfaction, unease, and discontent, leaving him seeking satisfaction elsewhere. For example, in me.

"Even without my talents, you'd never have reason to be anxious around me," I pouted internally.

"Jasper, you know I love you, but Bella is my world," he responded to my thoughts.

"I thought the same about Alice. But you'll realize eventually that you need more. I'll be here when you do."

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_A/N: Thanks to Mrs. Agget for betaing._


	10. Chapter 10: What if she saw the evidence

**The Twilight Twenty-Five**

Prompt #: 10

Pen name: ICMezzo

Pairing: Bella/Edward

Rating: T

Photos for prompts can be found here:

community[dot]livejournal[dot]com/thetwilight25/13912[dot]html

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#10: What if she saw the evidence

"Pull over. Now."

Edward stopped the car and I jumped out and vomited into the grass.

He was instantly beside me. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have told you."

I ignored him, losing another battle with my stomach as he tried to comfort me.

The army that Victoria had grown in Seattle claimed many lives. As a result, this bicycle's owner would never return for it.

After all, a corpse needs a bicycle about as much as a fish does.

Bile rose again in my throat. I clutched my abdomen as I bent and heaved again.

All my fault.

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_A/N: Thanks to Mrs. Agget for betaing._


	11. Chapter 11: What if she also liked sand

**The Twilight Twenty-Five**

Prompt #: 11

Pen name: ICMezzo

Pairing: Bella, Renee, Edward, Victoria

Rating: T

Photos for prompts can be found here:

community[dot]livejournal[dot]com/thetwilight25/13912[dot]html

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#11: What if Victoria also liked sand and sun

"Unfortunately, I really need to work on my paper," Edward told Bella's mother, who insisted Edward join them for a trip to the beach.

But Edward clung to the term paper ruse he and Bella agreed upon during their flight to Florida, so the women went off alone.

They had been gone 34 minutes when Alice called to warn Edward. It took him an additional 19 to find their now-empty vehicle and 2 to locate their bodies.

36,498 minutes later, Edward tracked down Victoria, exacting his own revenge. Once completed, he was free to spend his remaining minutes mourning.

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_A/N: Thanks to Mrs. Agget for betaing._


	12. Chapter 12: What if the wolves had been

**The Twilight Twenty-Five**

Prompt #: 12

Pen name: ICMezzo

Pairing: Bella, Laurent, and some tardy wolves

Rating: T

Photos for prompts can be found here:

community[dot]livejournal[dot]com/thetwilight25/13912[dot]html

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#12: What if the wolves had been a bit late

Laurent flashed glistening fangs as he approached me in the meadow.

Then, in a movement too swift for my eyes, he was upon me. Sharp teeth slashed my wrist and dug into my flesh. I screamed in terror and pain, wave after searing, fiery wave keeping me from blissful unconsciousness.

It couldn't last much longer, I reasoned. The burning would cease and I would be free from pain, as well as from the emptiness that was life without Edward.

But suddenly Laurent dropped my arm and ran from the clearing.

I heard wolves howling nearby as the darkness claimed me.

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_A/N: Thanks to Mrs. Agget for betaing._


	13. Chapter 13: What if Carlisle'd been righ

**The Twilight Twenty-Five**

Prompt #: 13

Pen name: ICMezzo

Pairing: Edward/?

Rating: M

Photos for prompts can be found here:

community[dot]livejournal[dot]com/thetwilight25/13912[dot]html

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#13: What if Carlisle had been right

"When I first saw you, I was jealous because you were more beautiful."

She rested her head on him.

He laughed, his arms around her. "You're crazy. You're the most gorgeous person on earth. To think I was angry with Carlisle for turning you. Somehow he knew," he chuckled. "I still don't know how he hid his thoughts from me for so long."

"Well, it didn't take very long," she thought, her lips grazing his neck.

"True," he conceded. "I'm just glad I didn't have to wait 90 years for you to show up."

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_A/N: Thanks to Mrs. Agget for betaing._


	14. Chapter 14: What if the straw broke the

**The Twilight Twenty-Five**

Prompt #: 14

Pen name: ICMezzo

Pairing: Bella

Rating: M

Photos for prompts can be found here:

community[dot]livejournal[dot]com/thetwilight25/13912[dot]html

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#14: What if the straw broke the camel's back

Bella sat alone in the cafeteria, her classmates' voices unable to pierce her depression.

She opened her drink, halfheartedly wondering what fortune its cap held. Yesterday's said: "Your glass is half full." She'd promptly poured the drink over her lunch, rendering it inedible. Perhaps today's would tell her Edward would return.

"Climb a tree," it said, making Bella recall time spent with Edward atop tall evergreens.

"You fucking climb a tree," she said, smashing the bottle against the table.

She watched, indifferent, as shards of glass sliced her hand and wrist and blood ran down her arm.

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_A/N: Thanks to Mrs. Agget for betaing._


	15. Chapter 15: What if the rocks weren't Be

**The Twilight Twenty-Five**

Prompt #: 15

Pen name: ICMezzo

Pairing: Bella/Victoria

Rating: T

Photos for prompts can be found here:

community[dot]livejournal[dot]com/thetwilight25/13912[dot]html

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#15: What if the rocks weren't Bella's only foe

Bella flung herself into the icy ocean, while Victoria artfully dove into the waves a mile away.

The current pulled at Bella, tossing and toying with her as she struggled for air.

The vampire, however, swam toward the girl with ease: graceful and stunning beneath pounding water.

Through unfocused eyes Bella made out fiery red streaking toward her through the darkness.

This was fine with Bella; the waves, rocks, and vengeful vampire were simply a means to an end, none worth fighting without Edward.

Though the nearby werewolf disagreed, he wasn't enough against all natural and supernatural elements at work.

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_A/N: Thanks to Mrs. Agget for betaing._


	16. Chapter 16: What if he was sad to leave

**The Twilight Twenty-Five**

Prompt #: 16

Pen name: ICMezzo

Pairing: Carlisle

Rating: T

Photos for prompts can be found here:

community[dot]livejournal[dot]com/thetwilight25/13912[dot]html

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#16: What if he was sad to leave

Carlisle wandered through the Forks hospital a final time. Most of his family had already gone. Only he and Edward remained to wrap up.

He passed the administrative area on his way to the exit. The cubicles may not be ideal for humans, but the orderliness appealed to Carlisle, considering chaos ruled throughout much of the hospital.

He was sorry to leave. He liked his patients; they needed him.

He grimaced, wondering if his sudden departure would cost lives.

"Goodbye. I'll miss you," Carlisle thought, hoping the building and patients could read his mind just as his son could.

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_A/N: Thanks to Mrs. Agget for betaing._


	17. Chapter 17: What if she saw the light

**The Twilight Twenty-Five**

Prompt #: 17

Pen name: ICMezzo

Pairing: Bella and Edward

Rating: T

Photos for prompts can be found here:

community[dot]livejournal[dot]com/thetwilight25/13912[dot]html

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#17: What if she saw the light

Bella looked from one of the Cullen's chandeliers to Edward. "Do you guys turn on the lights at night when I'm not here?"

He laughed. "Sometimes we leave them off to save energy. But usually, they're on."

"Why?" she asked.

He shrugged. "Some human habits die hard?"

She smiled. "Well, when I'm a vampire we're going to turn them on all the time."

"Bella," he groaned before eventually giving in to his curiosity. "And why is that?"

"They're beautiful. They sparkle in the light," she grinned. "They remind me of you."

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_A/N: Thanks to Mrs. Agget for betaing._


	18. Chapter 18: What if the Volturi got them

**The Twilight Twenty-Five**

Prompt #: 18

Pen name: ICMezzo

Pairing: Jacob, Renesmee and the Voturi

Rating: T

Photos for prompts can be found here:

community[dot]livejournal[dot]com/thetwilight25/13912[dot]html

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#18: What if the Volturi got them too

"This may hurt a little," Jane explained, disabling the werewolf and his young half-breed companion.

The Volturi's work in Washington now complete, they located these final two guilty parties and took them prisoner, their case having been decided several states and a thousand miles away.

It was in the melee that the girl's little backpack opened and the contents, now useless, spilled to the ground.

Love notes.  
Envelopes filled with cash.  
False identification for a Jacob and Vanessa Wolfe.

And a single sheet printed with the words _Rio de Janeiro,_ a destination at which the paperwork would never arrive.

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_A/N: Thanks to Mrs. Agget for betaing._


	19. Chapter 19: What if that's all she still

**The Twilight Twenty-Five**

Prompt #: 19

Pen name: ICMezzo

Pairing: Bella

Rating: T

Photos for prompts can be found here:

community[dot]livejournal[dot]com/thetwilight25/13912[dot]html

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#19: What if that's all she still had

Bella couldn't help herself.

She pulled off the main road and drove up the long, winding driveway, giving in to the unseen force pulling her toward the long-abandoned house.

She crept through the weeds and onto the front porch.

She bypassed the front door, opting instead to peer into the filthy bay window.

She clutched her chest; it was still there.

Beneath dust and cobwebs, it had broken strings, missing keys, cracked wood.

It had aged as severely as she had from his absence: crumbling from disuse, and weary from waiting for the only one who could make her sing.

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_A/N: Thanks to Mrs. Agget for betaing._


	20. Chapter 20: What if she reached her mom

**The Twilight Twenty-Five**

Prompt #: 20

Pen name: ICMezzo

Pairing: Bella and Renee

Rating: T

Photos for prompts can be found here:

community[dot]livejournal[dot]com/thetwilight25/13912[dot]html

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#20: What if she had reached her mom

"Please, I have to use the bathroom and call my mom."

Alice and Jasper exchanged glances. "Fine, Bella. Five minutes."

Jasper pulled into a gas station.

Bella ran to the payphone. She dialed her mother's home number, praying Renee would somehow get her message.

But to Bella's horror, Renee answered. "Mom!" she cried. "You're in Phoenix?"

"No, baby, Jacksonville. I won't be in Phoenix for another eight days. But guess what? I learned how to forward calls yesterday. Aren't you proud?"

Bella sighed in relief. Renee was safe from James for at least a week.

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_A/N: Thanks to Mrs. Agget for betaing._


	21. Chapter 21: What if Bella preferred a go

**The Twilight Twenty-Five**

Prompt #: 21

Pen name: ICMezzo

Pairing: Bella and ?

Rating: T

Photos for prompts can be found here:

community[dot]livejournal[dot]com/thetwilight25/13912[dot]html

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#21: What if Bella preferred a golden retriever

Alice blinked, returning to reality.

Edward gasped, having picked the vision from her mind.

Bella's once hazy future had become clear.

Simultaneously, the vampires turned to witness Bella vocalize her choice a half-second after she'd made it.

"Sure, Mike. I'll go to the dance with you," the brown-haired girl told the blond youth.

And so she chose warmth and sun over cold, dark, wet.  
She chose California or Phoenix over Alaska or Forks.  
She chose tan, breathing children, over pale barrenness.  
She chose the golden retriever instead of the vampire.

He chose to walk toward Volterra without looking back.

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_A/N: Thanks to Mrs. Agget for betaing._


	22. Chapter 22: What if they had some fun

**The Twilight Twenty-Five**

Prompt #: 22

Pen name: ICMezzo

Pairing: Esme and all the Cullens

Rating: T

Photos for prompts can be found here:

community[dot]livejournal[dot]com/thetwilight25/13912[dot]html

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#22: What if they had some fun after dawn broke

Esme smiled as the entire family gathered in the theater they'd rented out.

They were rarely together lately; Rosalie and Emmett currently lived in Manitoba, and Alice and Jasper helped with peace negotiations in the Middle East.

After everyone settled in, Carlisle started the film.

"If we wanted this, we could have gone to a normal showing," Rosalie groused.

Carlisle laughed and hit fast-forward. Cheers erupted.

Esme would have rather watched in slow motion, giving them more time together. But she knew a fast-forward viewing was the others' preference, so she settled in, reveling in the happiness around her.

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_A/N: Thanks to Mrs. Agget for betaing._


	23. Chapter 23: What if they lost too

**The Twilight Twenty-Five**

Prompt #: 23

Pen name: ICMezzo

Pairing: Rosalie

Rating: T

Photos for prompts can be found here:

community[dot]livejournal[dot]com/thetwilight25/13912[dot]html

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#23: What if they lost too

"Rosalie, it is your right," Carlisle spoke gently, handing her the lighter.

She stood frozen, unwilling to accept it.

"It is also your duty," he pressed.

"Make _her_ do it," she demanded, gesturing at Bella. "It's her fault."

Noxious fumes and smoke filled the air as the remains of Victoria's army burned in nearby piles.

Now it was Emmett's turn.

"Say goodbye, Rosalie." Carlisle urged. "You must say goodbye now."

He forced the device into her hand and helped her thumb flick fuel into flame.

We had won the battle but lost the war.

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_A/N: Thanks to Mrs. Agget for betaing._


	24. Chapter 24: What if he never went back

**The Twilight Twenty-Five**

Prompt #: 24

Pen name: ICMezzo

Pairing: Edward

Rating: T

Photos for prompts can be found here:

community[dot]livejournal[dot]com/thetwilight25/13912[dot]html

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#24: What if he never went back

I meandered through the city streets. I had no real destination, I was merely listening.

My eyes moved quickly over the run-down apartments typical of the area. Their occupants' thoughts were as unoriginal and unimpressive as the architecture.

_Sex, money, cats._

But I was listening for something different.

I was looking for dark, dangerous, criminal minds.

I found them often enough, ensuring my survival and exacting justice for the unaware populous.

I looked up, thankful for the cloud cover above, and the freedom it provided me. For you see, criminals don't come out only at night.

And I was thirsty.

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_A/N: Thanks to Mrs. Agget for betaing._


	25. Chapter 25: What if Bella swung the othe

**The Twilight Twenty-Five**

Prompt #: 25

Pen name: ICMezzo

Pairing: Bella/Alice

Rating: M

Photos for prompts can be found here:

community[dot]livejournal[dot]com/thetwilight25/13912[dot]html

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#25: What if Bella swung the other way

"Jasper is leaving, Bella."

I tried to restrain my emotions, fearful Jasper was near enough to read them. But I knew she could hear my heart pounding.

"Are you going too?" I asked desperately, grabbing her hand as if I could keep her with me this way. I tried to ignore the resulting electricity.

"That's such a silly question." She looked at me and shook her head. "I told you already that I knew from the beginning I'd love you too."

I nodded as the horizon filled with possibilities.

"You're my life now," she whispered.

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_A/N: Thanks to everyone for reading. I hope you enjoyed! And, again, thanks to Mrs. Agget for betaing everything for me._


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